Bovine leukemia is a systemic, malignant lymphosarcoma in cows which is mainly caused by infection with a retrovirus, bovine leukemia virus (BLV). In 2016, 3,125 cases of bovine leukemia were reported in Japan, which was the largest number of cases among the infectious bovine diseases designated by the Act on Domestic Animal Infectious Diseases Control. Bovine leukemia is commonly seen in other Asian countries, South America and North America.

About 35 percent of cows in Japan have been reportedly infected with BLV. Although the rampant infection has caused a considerable economic loss to dairy and beef farmers, there has been no effective vaccine or treatment available to control the spread and progression of the disease.

Nomad Scythian herders roamed vast areas spanning the Central Asian steppes during the Iron Age, approximately from the 9th to the 1st century BCE (Before Common Era). These livestock pastoralists, who lived on wagons covered by tents, left their mark in the history of warfare for their exceptional equestrian skills. They were among the first to master mounted riding and to make use of composite bows while riding. A new study published in Science led by Professor Ludovic Orlando and involving 33 international researchers from 16 universities, now reveals the suite of traits that Scythian breeders selected to engineer the type of horse that best fit their purpose.

The study took advantage of exceptionally preserved horse remains in royal Scythian burials, such as the site of Arzhan, Tuva Republic, where over 200 horses have been excavated but also at Berel', Kazakhstan, where no less than 13 horses were preserved in a single, permafrozen funerary chamber. Applying the latest methods in ancient DNA research, the researchers could sequence the genome of 13 Scythian stallions. These were 2,300-2,700 years old and included 11 specimens from Berel' and two from Arzhan. The researchers also sequenced the genome of one 4,100 year-old mare from Chelyabinsk, Russia, belonging to the earlier Sintashta culture, which developed the first two-wheeled chariots drawn by horses.

University of Helsinki researchers have uncovered a novel gene associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in dogs. The new research on this fatal disease may also help us understand the mechanisms of respiratory diseases in humans.